Ancient Language
The Ancient Language was once a language of all beings in Alagaësia, but was later used only by the elves and some humans, as well as the dwarves in the crowning of their king. It was the language of the Grey Folk but then, somehow, they managed to tie their language with magic. It was used to command and regulate magic. Each act of magic was linked to a specific word; therefore, it was generally true that the more knowledge one had of the Ancient Language, the more magic they could perform. It was also possible for experienced magicians to utilize Non-verbal manipulation, although this was extremely dangerous. It was impossible to lie in the Ancient Language because words spoken in the language were unquestionably true. Although it was said that the elves were masters at saying one thing and meaning another (for example, the swordsmith, Rhunön, said she would never make another weapon but made one through Eragon). Because of the candid nature of the language, oaths of allegiance and similar contracts were usually conducted in it, ensuring they would not be broken, though they could be twisted to be ineffective if the one who made the oath left enough loopholes in their wording. Names in the Ancient Language were "true names" and the knowledge of such a title was a source of power and control. The same holds true of the name of the Ancient Language itself: the knowledge of the name allows one to change the meaning of its words. The name was found by Galbatorix, and subsequently used against him in the final struggle against him. History The Ancient Language was once spoken by all beings in Alagaësia, with the originators of the language being the Grey Folk. Prior to being intertwined with magic, magic was controlled exclusively by the thoughts of a spell-caster, usually only the elves, with the rare exception on a dragon. This resulted in numerous opportunities for accidents, as a wielder of magic could inadvertently shift their thoughts in the midst of casting a spell, diverting the flow of energy. When Alagaësia was nearly destroyed because of an accidental spell of non-verbal magic, the Grey Folk bound the Ancient Language to the very basis of magic. The language was forgotten after the departure of the Grey Folk, but was reintroduced when the elves brought it back over the sea from Alalëa. By the time of the Dragon War, it was universally recognized as the elven language, yet could still be spoken among other beings. Real-world connections Author Christopher Paolini based the Ancient Language on the languages of the ancient Norse and Celtic peoples. It is not certain which ones he used, however, since his statement on the origin of the name "Galbatorix" says that it is the combination of the Welsh words "galba" - meaning "big" - and "torix" - meaning "king". No such words (or even the letter 'x') exist in the Welsh language. In Paolini's own words: "When I was writing the first draft for Eragon, I needed to invent a word that meant fire; it was supposed to come from an “ancient language” that is almost always used with magic." (Some very skilled masters of magic can use it without using the language, although risking a stray thought or feeling distorts the results of the spell, which could be deadly.) "Since my parents owned a dictionary of word origins, I pulled it off the shelf and flipped through it. Eventually I found an obscure Old Norse word, brisingr, that meant fire, and because I loved it so much, I decided to base the rest of my language on Old Norse. To find more words, I went online and dug up various Old Norse dictionaries, although I have been known to invent a word now and then when the story requires it! As far as the grammar and pronunciation of my “ancient language” go, they bear absolutely no resemblance to Old Norse as I wanted to give it my own twist." Many have criticized the Ancient Language, however, maintaining that it consists mostly of Old Norse words replacing English words in a sentence. The Ancient Language is almost translated to fit the semantic meaning of each English word exactly. The language when used by elves contains a number of suffixes to identify social standing, similar to Japanese honorifics. Christopher Paolini has cited Ursula Le. Guinn's Earthsea books as "inspiration," so he probably got the idea of true names for people and things from there. (The language of Ged - the protagonist in Earthsea - and his race, has this same property like the Ancient Language). Translations Ancient Language to English Words Phrases All adjectives are used after nouns (ex. 'the strong woman' would literally translate as 'the woman strong'). Connections By using simple knowledge it is also possible to find out other words in the Ancient Language. Such as: :Fethrblaka = bird/Feather-flapper :Lethrblaka = Ra'zac's mounts/Leather-Flapper/ bat :Skulblaka = Dragon/Scale-Flapper So, Fethr means Feather, Lethr means Leather, Skul means Scale, and ''-blaka'' means flap. Also, the word sundablaka—shadowflapper—appears in the Eragon movie. Sentence construction Descriptions are placed after the object they describe. The most common mistake made by people trying to speak the Ancient Language is to place adjectives before nouns. Example: "Aí skulblaka ramr" means "a strong dragon", but literally translates as "a dragon strong". Unlike in English, descriptions can be placed in any order following the object. Example: "Aí oro ramr hvitr" (a strong, white arrow) can also be rendered as "aí oro hvitr ramr" (a white, strong arrow). Aside from descriptions, the structure of a sentence in the Ancient Language is usually the same as it would be in English. Example: "Gath un reisa du rakr" would literally translate as "unite and raise the mist". No restructuring of the sentence is required. There are no participles (e.g. walking, swimming) in the Ancient Language. Verbs are either past simple (e.g. walked, swam), present simple (e.g. walk, swim) or future simple (e.g. will walk, will swim). Example: "I am following" would have to be rendered as "I follow" (Eka tauthr) in the Ancient Language; "I was following" as "I followed" (Eka tauthro) and "I will be following" as "I will follow" (Eka weohnata tauthr). When two nouns are joined together to form a single noun, the descriptive noun comes first, as it does in English. Example: "Fethrblaka" (bird) is a combination of the nouns "fethr" (feather) and "blaka" (flapper). Prefixes äf-: gives words a malignant connotation. For example, "taka" (give) becomes "äftaka" (steal). eld-: changes verbs into words of action. For example, "jierda" (break) becomes "eld jierda" (breaker). Suffixes -ar: pluralises nouns ending on consonants. If the noun already ends with "r", place an "a" before it. For example, "draumr" (dream) becomes "draumar" (dreams). However, if the noun already has a vowel before the "r", the suffix "-ya" is used. For example, "edur" (tor) becomes "edya" (tors). -í: changes verbs ending with any letter (except for "i" and "r") to past tense. For example, "haina" (harm) becomes "hainaí" (harmed). -o: forms the past tense of verbs ending with "i" and "r". For example, "skölir" (shield) becomes "sköliro" (shielded). -r: gives nouns a masculine connotation. For example, "älf" (elf) becomes "älfr" (male elf), which is also he. -s: makes nouns possessive. For example, "könungr" (king) becomes "könungrs" (king's). -sja: adds "-looking" to the end of adjectives. For example, "ramr" (strong) becomes "ramrsja" (strong-looking). -ya: pluralises nouns ending on vowels. It also replaces the last vowel. For example, "agaetí" (celebration) becomes "agaetya" (celebrations). If the "-ya" interferes with the word's pronunciation, the vowel it would normally replace isn't removed. The vowels "a" and "i" are usually changed to "e". For example, "celöbra" (honour) becomes "celöbreya" (honours). English To Ancient Language Articles, conjunctions, auxiliary verbs, prepositions Pronouns Nouns Verbs and Adjectives Prefixes and suffixes Other